Refrigerating device



Nov. 17, 1931. A. E. PAYsoN ET AL 1,832,473

REFRIGERATING DEVICE Filed March 12. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l j .l BY

f3 0 f6 ff WH/Mur f /4 ATroRNE Nov. 17, 1931. A. E. PAYsoN ETALREFRIGERTING DEVICE Filed March 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTDRSPatented Nov. 17, l1931 l UNITED -V STATES AUBIN E. rAYsoNnND MINER P.wnrmolui, or NoRwTcH, `(101mnc'rmtrr REFRIGERATTNG :oEvTcE Applicationalauarcha, 192s. serial No. 260,870.

Our invention is for a self-contained cooling'receptacle of novelconstruction adapted to keep the contents at low temperature. For thispurpose we employ a suitable container, preferably a jar of thedouble-walled vacuum type, provided with a small compartment holding arefrigerating medium. In one embodiment of our invention, thiscompartment is formed by\a double-walled vacuum bottle mounted in thestopper of the receptacle, and

` the cooling medium is preferably solidified justably fitted to exposemore or less area for the escape of the refrigerating gas. fThis enablesus to regulate the temperature in the receptacle, as will subsequentlybe explained more fully. The receptacle is used for stor- 'ing anddispensing articles (particularly foodstus) that must be kept cold.

' rIhe various features and practical advantages of our invention willbe fully understood from a detailed description4 of the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate several em odiments of ourself-containedrefrigerating device. In these drawings- Fig. 1 shows apreferred form of our invention as actually constructed and successfullyused, the view being a vertical crossseetion approximately through thecenter;

Fig. 2`is a bottom plan view of the stopper, showing the pivotedperforated disk which closes the ice chamber; A

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the cover disk removed, thisview being a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 4 is a sectional fragmentary view on a large scale to show more'clearly the connec, tion of the outer jacket to lthe supporting base inwhich the jar is supported;

Fig. 5 represents a cross-sectional view of a modified construction inwhich the refrigerating jar;

Fig. 6 is atransverse cross-section on line 6 6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View of a construction in which theice chamber in unit is supported at the bottom `of thev the stopper isclosed .by an adjustable porous cup.

Referring to F igs. 1 4, there is a base 10 providedwi'th supportinglegs 12 which may be cast integral with the base or secured thereto asseparate members by suitable fastening means 13. The base 10, preferablyof cast metal, is spherical in shape and`is provided at the center witha hollow cone-shaped projection 14 which forms a recess l5, for apurpose that will presently appear. A heat-insulated receptacle 1,6 isfirmly supported in upright position on base 10.*" In the presentlnstanceg-the receptacle'l consists or a double-walled vacuum jar ofglass, preferably of pyrex glass, or other suitable material. Thespherical bottom 17 of the jar lits snugly in the correspondingly shapedbody of the sup# porting base 10. "lhe upper cylindrical portion 1Uofthe base engages the cylindricalouter .wall ofthe jar 16, so that thelatter I cannot tilt on the rounded'bottom of the base.

As these double-walled glass jars have considerable weight, the jarrests firmly in the base without the need of additional fastening means.It is wellknowrr-that doublewalled vacuum vessels have a projecting tipor tubulation through which the chamber between the Walls is exhausted.lThe jar 16 has a projecting tip 18 at the center of its rounded base,and this tip extends into the central recess 15 of base 10, so that thetip is fully protected against injury.

In some instancesit may be desirable or advisable to place a sheet metaljacket or outer casing 19 around the refrigerating jar 16. 'A simple wayto connect the jacket 19 to base 10 is to provide the upper end of thebase with an annular recess 20 for receiving the lower end of jacket 19,as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Screws orrivets 21 secure the jacket to thebase. The jacket 19 not only protects the glass jar, but conceals thecontents ofl the same and improves the general outward appearance of theentire device, especially if the gacket is decorated or ornamented withan appropriate design.

A disk 22 secured to the underside of a 5 metal cap 23, as by means ofan adhesive or in any other pract1cal way, is inserted in the mouth ofjar 16. This disk is preferably of cork or other heat-insulatingmaterial and engages the inner wall of the jar in a. tight fractionaltit. lhe sheet metal cap 23 is provided with a cylindrical hange 24adapted to fit over the upper end of jacket 19 and engage the same inirrational Contact to make a tight yet separable joint. The free edge ofharige V 24 is slightly turned outwardly, as shown at 25, in order tofacilitate the insertion of disk 23 over jacket 19.

The cork disk 22 has a central opening 26 for receiving a stopper 27 ofcork or similar material. 'lhe upper end of stopper 27 is formed with aflange 28 adapted to rest on the disk 22. A hollowgrip or knob 29,preferably of sheet metal, is attached to the upper end of stopper 27.In the present case the knob 29 has a flange 30, which is spun or turnedinto holding engagement with the iange 28 of the stopper. Adouble-walled vacuum bottle 31 is inserted in the axial opening 32 ofstopper 27. The bottle 31 lits so tight in the A30 opening that noadditional fastening means is needed. rl`he hollow knob or grip 29performs the double function of a handle for stopper 27 and a protectivecasing for bottle 3l, which holds a refrigerant diagrammaticallyindicated by the block 33 in Fig. 1. At

the present time we prefer to use a refrigerant in the form ofsolidified carbon dioxide, which is popularly known in the trade as dryice, but any other practical kind of refrigerant or cooling medium maybe employed.

The mouth of the heat-insulated bottle 31 is closed by a disk 34 havingperforations 34 to allow the slow escape of carbon dioxide gas from thebottle. The disk 34, which can be stamped out of sheet aluminum or madein ,any other practical way, has a lug 5 for receiving a screw 6 carriedby the lower end of stopper 27, whereby the disk is pivoted to thelunderside of the stopper. A screw 7 projecting from the bottom ofstopper 27 is arranged to engage a hook 8 on disk 34 for securing thelatter in closed position.

The operation of the refrigerating apparatus above described will beclearly understood, but it may be summarized in la few sentences. Theheat-insulated jar 16 is adapted to hold foodstufs and other articlesthat should be kept at low temperature, such as ice cream confections,certain kinds of candies,

yeast cakes, and soon. Solidified carbon di oxide or dry ice is packedinto the doublewalled bottle 31. This so-called dry ice has atemperature of about 114.5 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. As carbondion'de gas is formed by slow evaporation of the dry ice,

recitava the gas escapes through the-perforated disk 34 into jar 16,where it expands and lowers the surrounding temperature. The rate ofevaporation of refrigerant 33 depends on the temperature inside the jarand on the degree of perviousness of disk 34. Obviously, the greater thecombined area of holes 34,'the faster will the dry ice evaporate.Therefore, by predetermining or regulating thesize of holes 34', it ispossible to obtain (Within reasonable limits) the desired temperature inreceptacle' 16. The accumulated expanded gases in the jar pass into theatmosphere when the stopper 27 is removed for access' to the contents.The stopper fits in the opening of disk 22 with sufficient looseness tobe easily removable, and the opening 26 is big enough to permit theinsertion of a hand. It may be advisable to provide a small vent 35through disk 22 and cap 23 to relieve excemve gaseous pressure in jar16, in the event of the stopper 27 not being lifted in time to allow theescape of accumulated gas. It should be noticed that the heat-insulatedbottle or container 31 prevents the escape of refrigerating gas exceptthrough the perforated disk 34 The modification of Fig. 5 differs fromthe construction of Fig. 1 mainly in having the religerating unitmounted at the bottom of jar 16 instead of in the stopper. The jar 16 ofFig. 5 contains a perforated plate 36 having integral upstanding arms 37shaped to engage the inner wall of the jar.l The upper ends 37 of thearms 37 extend for a sulficient distance along the cylindrical innerwall of jar 16 to lock the plate 36 against lateral movement on therounded base of the jar. A cylinder 38 is mounted on plate' 36 by rivets39, or the like, and in the chamber 40 of the cylinder is a s ringsupport indicated as a whole by 41. his support rests on the perforatedplate 36, and comprises a central disk 42 and spring arms 43 preferablyformed integral with the disk. These arms are so shaped that at 44 theyengage the cylinder 38 and at 45 they engage the double-walled vacuumbottle '46, which is similar to bottle 31 of Fig. 1. When the bottle 46is inserted between the spring arms 43, the free ends of the latter actlike resilient levers held at point 44, so that the bottle is firmlygripped and held in position, and yet is easily removed.

The mouth of bottle 46 is closed by a cupshaped stopper 47, whichconsists of a material pervious to the passage of gaseous carbondioxide. The cup 47 is adjustably fitted in bottle 46 so as to expose apredetermined area and thereby regulate the escape of gas. In this wayit is possible to control the temperature in jar 16 within a fair rangeof accuracy. For example, ice cream confections should be kept at about15 F. above zero to be in nice eatable condition. For yeast cakes,

the temperature ought to be about F.

above Zero. The pervious cup 47, which restsV on supporting disk 42, canbe made of vaneed of repetition. We need only add that the perforatedplate 36 allows the evaporated carbon dioxide to pass into the jar. Ifdesired, a removable dome or cover 48 (perforated or solid) may bemounted on cylinder 28 to protect the refrigerating unit. To replenishthe bottle 46, it is Withdrawn from the spring arms 43 together With thestopper cup 47, leaving the supporting parts 36 and 41 in place, but thewhole outfit can be taken out if necessary. v

Since the stopper of Fig. 5 does not carry the refrigerating unit, itcan be of simpler construction than the stopper of Fig. 1. The jar 16 ofFig.l 5'is closed at the mouth by a disk 49 of cork, or similarmaterial, attached to the underside of sheet metal f cap 50, Which-has acylindrical iangel adapted to lit over the jar 16. A vent 52 in disk 49and cap 50 relieves excessive gaseous pressure in the jar,-as more fullyexplained in connection with Fig. 1. A knob or'other finger piece 53 isattached to cup 5() in any practical Way. We need not describe thesupport for the jar 16 in Fig. 5, because that is substantially the sameas in Fig. 1, except that in Fig. 5 We have purposely omitted the outermetal jacket 19.

rlhe modification of Fig. 7 embodies a combination of certain featuresin Figs. 1 and 5. Like parts in these three figures are indicated by thesame reference numerals, and what has been said about Figs. 1 and 5applies to similar parts shown in Fig. 7, Without the need ofrepetition. In Fig. 7', the stopper 27 carries a double-walled vacuumbottle 46provided with an adjustable cup-shaped stopper l47. In otherwords, we have here a stopper like that of Fig. 1 carrying arefrigerating unit like that of Fig. 5. Since the bottle 46 in Fig. 7does not project so far out of the stopper, the hollow sheetmetal handle29 is shorter than handle 29 of Fig. 1. The operation of Fig. 7 will beunderstood from what We said about Figs. 1 and 5.

Although we have shown and described certain specic constructions, it isunderstood that our invention is not limitedto the details set forth.The underlying principles of our new refrigerating device can bemechanically carried out in various other Ways Withoutdeparting from thescope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. v

We claim as our invention:

1. A heat-insulated receptacle provided with a double-walled vacuumbottle for holding solidified carbon dioxide, said bottle be,- ing heldin inverted position, and a pervious closure for the lower .end of saidbottle to permit the escape of gaseous carbon dioxide gas downward/fintothe receptacle where it expands and`lowers the temperature.

2. A heat-insulated receptacle having a reopening, a double-walledvacuum bottle tightly fitted in said opening and adapted to hold arefrigerant in the form of solidified gas, a pervious closure for saidbottle to allow the gradual escape of gas into the receptacle, and meanson the outside of said stopper to enclose said bottle.

"3. A refrigerating lunit consisting of a stopper adapted to lit into areceptacle and carrying a double-walled vacuum bottle for holding arefrigerant in the form of solidified gas, and a pervious closure forsaid bottle to permit the escape of gas.

4. A refrigerating unit consisting of a stopper adapted to lit into areceptacle and carrying a double-walled vacuum bottle for holding arefrigerant in the form of soliditied carbon dioxide, and a perviousdisk mounted on said stopper to close the mouth of said bottle and allowthe gradual escape of gas.

5. A refrigerating unit consisting of a stopper adapted to lit into areceptacle and having an axial opening in which a heat-insulated bottleis mounted, said bottle being adapted to contain a refrigerant in theform` of solidified gas, and a removable pervous closure for the mouthof said bottle to permit the gradual escape of gas.

6. A refrigerating unit consisting of a cork stopper having an axialhole therethrough in which adouble-walledvacuum bottle is frictionallyheld, said bottle beingJ adapted to contain a refrigerant in the form ofsolidified gas, the mouth of said bottle being at the bottom of saidstopper and the base of the bottle extending beyond the'other end of thestopper, a hollow knob mounted on said stopper to cover the projectingbase of said bottle, said knob also serving as a handle for the stopper,and a removable pervious closure for the mouth of said bottle to permitthe escape of gas.

7. A double-Walled vacuum jarhaving its mouth covered by a diskcomprising heatinsulated material, said disk having an opening largeenough to permit the insertion of a hand, a stopper removably fitted insaid opening, said stopper being provided with an opening in `Which adouble-walled vacuum bottle is supported, said bottle being adapted tohold a refrigerant in the form of solidi- .movable stopper provided withan axial ilo fied gas, and a pervious closure for said bottle to allowthe escape of gas into the jar.

8. A double-Walled vacuum jar having a Wide mouth, a cork disk fittedover said mouth. said disk having an Opening large enough'to permit theinsertion of a hand, a cork stopper being provided with an axial openingin which a double-Walled vacuum bottle is frictionally supported, themouth of said bottle heilig at the lower end of said stopper, a perviousclosure for said bottle to permit the escape of gas into the jar, and avent to relieve excessive gaseous pressure in the jar.

9. In temperatureeretaining apparatus,

the combination of a hollow spherical base, a

double-walled vacuum jar supported on said base in upright position,said jar having a spherical bottom fit-ting into the spherical base, aprojecting tip on the spherical bottom of said jar, a recess on saidbase for receiving said tip, and a refrigerating unit mounted on theupper end of said jar and in thermal communicationlivith the interiorthereof.

10. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a hollow spherical base, adouble-Walled `vacuum jar supported on said base in upright position,said jar having a spherical bottom fitting into said base, a projectingtip on the spherical bottom of said jar, a recess on said base forreceiving said tip, an outer jacket connected at its lower end to theupper circular edge of said base, a closure for the mouth of said jar,said closure comprising a sheet metal disk having a depending augeadapted to lit over said jacket, a cork attached to the bottom of saiddisk and adapted to fit into the mouth of said jar, and a refrigeratingunit removably mounted on said closure7 said unit having a compartmentfor a refrigerant in the form of solidified gas and having meanspermitting the escape of gas into the jar.

AUBIN E. PAYSON. MIN ER P. WETMORE.

